The state Commission on Higher Education is asking South Carolina's public colleges and universities to cap or cut tuition as a part of a recently approved Student Bill of Rights. Pictured is Clemson University's signature Tillman Hall.(Photo: File)

South Carolina universities should cap, freeze or cut tuition rates, the state Commission on Higher Education said in a recently approved Student Bill of Rights.

The eight-point Student Bill of Rights also calls on South Carolina's public colleges and universities to put qualified in-state students "first in line" for admission and to automatically accept all Palmetto Fellows and recipients of LIFE scholarships.

The proposals are aimed at making higher education more affording and accessible, according to the commission, which oversees the state's universities and colleges.

The commission says South Carolina's tuition rates are the highest in the nation as a percentage of household income.

In addition, the commission said, South Carolina is No. 8 in the nation in student debt.

"What our commissioners have heard at the seven town hall events we have hosted across the state is that the students and families are struggling to figure out how to pay for college without saddling themselves with crushing student debt," said Tim Hofferth, chairman of the commission.

A spokesman for Clemson University, however, said the commission, in approving the Student Bill of Rights, didn't take into consideration the consequences of the recommendations.

"CHE's recommendations in the Student Bill of Rights are consistent with its recent pattern of proposing and establishing arbitrary rules, guidelines and initiatives without a full understanding of the actual outcomes associated with those decisions," said Mark Land, Clemson's vice president for university relations.

What about state funding?

The University of South Carolina and the College of Charleston also sharply criticized the Student Bill of Rights for not addressing the importance of adequate state funding.

"How can any Student Bill of Rights not include the need for sustainable state funding?" asked USC President Harris Pastides, writing on behalf of 14 college and university presidents in South Carolina.

Calling colleges and universities "overregulated and underfunded," College of Charleston President Glenn McConnell said the commission is trying to micromanage universities.

"CHE’s proposed one-size-fits-all approach will not work," said McConnell, the state's former lieutenant governor. "Price controls and the micromanagement of the compositions of our student bodies are problematic given the unique locations and identities of the state’s public colleges and universities. In short, we need greater innovation, not more regulation.”

However, Jeff Schilz, interim executive director of the commission, said the Student Bill of Rights was not created as a one-size-fits-all document.

Concerns about 'prohibitive' tuition costs

One fan of the Student Bill of Rights, however, is Gov. Henry McMaster.

"Our state’s colleges and universities provide a tremendous service to the people of South Carolina and are important economic drivers for our state, but in order for that progress to continue, we must do what we can to ensure that tuition costs are not unnecessarily prohibitive," McMaster said. “I applaud the Commission on Higher Education’s efforts in bringing these concerns to light and beginning the necessary discussion about how to best address them."

The commission developed the Student Bill of Rights based on feedback from state lawmakers and comments from attendees at town hall events the agency has hosted throughout the state, including in Greenville.

But in crafting it, the commission did not consult college and university officials, said Pastides, writing to the commission on behalf of the state's Council of Presidents.

"For a Bill of Rights to be discussed without any input from the institutions who actually have daily dialogue with students is perplexing and unfortunate," Pastides wrote.

Following is the complete list of the Student Bill of Rights:

• Allowing Palmetto Fellows and LIFE lottery tuition scholarship recipients to be granted automatic acceptance to any public institution of higher learning in South Carolina.

• Placing qualified in-state students first in line in the admission process, and out of-state growth should not necessitate institutional expansion and capital spending. Out-of-state enrollments should be assessed, managed and potentially capped.

• Tuition breaks for out-of-state students should be reviewed and potentially capped.

• Students should be able to freely transfer qualified courses between institutions.

• Cost of attendance should be capped, frozen or decreased.

• Institutions should increase transparency and consistency in disclosing fees.

• The Commission on Higher Education should collect, assess and monitor institution budgets (as required by law) and enrollments.

• South Carolina’s students have the right to expect that their success and well-being will be at the heart of every decision made at every level within the state’s higher education system.

Prompting a public discussion

Land said Clemson already has been working to control costs and that most Clemson students receive financial aid.

"Clemson is committed to providing affordable and high quality college education for South Carolinians," Land said. "Over the past decade, the university has worked tirelessly to control its costs and provide greater financial support to students, with a continued focus on serving in-state students, which account for well over 60 percent of Clemson's student population.

“As a result, more than half of Clemson’s undergraduate students graduate with no debt and in-state students pay, on average, about 36 percent of the posted price for tuition and fees. Access and affordability remain an essential part of Clemson University's mission, and we will continue to seek ways to work constructively with the state to further those goals."

Hofferth, the commission's chairman, said he hoped the Student Bill of Rights will bring greater attention to the costs of higher education in South Carolina.

“We are hopeful that the principles outlined in the Student Bill of Rights will prompt a discussion by state leaders, including lawmakers, representatives from the universities, parents, students and the business community on how the state will continue to provide high-quality higher education opportunities in an affordable, accessible and sustainable manner," Hofferth said.

Paul Hyde covers education and everything else under the South Carolina sun. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter: @PaulHyde7.